Downingtown West rolls over CB East
DOYELSTOWN>> Friday night in the District 1 6A quarterfinals the Downingtown West boys basketball team put on an offensive and defensive clinic for the entire 32 minutes as the fifth seeded Whippets overwhelmed the four seed, Central Bucks East and came away with a convincing 64-46 win.
The win puts Downingtown West into Tuesday nights semifinal round against top seeded Spring-Ford at 7 p.m and a win there will get the Whippets into the District 1 6A championship game.
The Whippets (21-5) led from the start of the second period on and were led by Donovan Fromhartz who had a game high 22 points. Dylan Blair tallied 19 points to go along with seven assists and West was in complete control against the reeling Patriots (20-5).
“We looked at a lot film this week and saw things they like to do and did not like to do,” Downingtown West coach Stu Ross said. “And they say that defense travels and we were on the road and the kids did a great job executing things. Donovan got us going in the first half. He was very aggressive on the offensive glass and he kept some balls alive and played a big game for us.”
Fromhartz had 16 of his 22 points in the first half, including two three-balls. The silky smooth sophomore finished with seven rebounds to go along with his game high 22 points and he led the Whippets to a 31-21 halftime advantage.
“I was looking to score and be aggressive,” Fromhartz said. “And the coaches put me in good positions tonight and I got going on the glass and kept some possessions alive for us which is huge.”
With a 10 point lead entering the third period, the Whippets came out on fire in the second half. Joe Suarez started things off with a long three-ball to make it a 34=21 West lead.
After a Patriots miss, Blair grabbed the rebound and ran the floor and scored in the lane and suddenly it was a 36-21 Whippets lead.
Central Bucks East continued to try to hit three-pointers but the cold shooting Patriots were just one for 11 from the field in the third period. After another Fromhartz follow, it was a 48-29 West advantage and the Patriots were shell shocked at the proceedings.
Suarez drained another long three-ball and Kelly Bell, who had eight points and six rebounds for the game, scored in tight and at the end of the third period the game was in firm control for the Whippets, who held a 46-25 edge. The Whippets outscored CB East 15-4 in the third period.
“The coaches told me at halftime to keep shooting and it was nice to have those two longings go in,” Suarez said. “And they put me ion good positions. And our def3ense is our calling card. We worked on defense and foul shooting all week and watched a lot of film and we were ready tonight.”
The Patriots, after going one for 11 in the third period, made their first four shots of the fourth period. But, by that time it was a case of too little too late for the home team as the Whippets were playing fast and easy.
Fromahrtz hit the glass hard again and scored on a follow to make it a 48-29 West lead with 4:54 to play in the fourth period.
Blair then stripped the ball away from one of the Patriots guards and ran the floor and scored the layup to make it a 50-29, lead for the Whippets and the Patriots were finished for the night.
West shot 13 for 26 from the field in the first half and went 25 for 48 for the game while the Patriots struggled from the field, thanks largely to the Whippets tenacious defense that forced 12 Patriots turnovers and a 18 for 51 shooting night.
“The defense was very solid tonight,” Ross said. “We hope to keep that going Tuesday night.”
Downingtown West 64, CB East 46
DOWNINGTOWN WEST (64) Blair 8 2-3 19, Lewis 1 1-3 3, Bell 4 0-0 8, Barker 0 4-4 4, Fromhartz 9 2-2 22, Suarez 3 0-0 8, Neuhas 0 0-0 0, Ely 0 0-0 0, Zincone 0 0-0 0, Coupe 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 9-12 64.
CB EAST (46) Giordano 6 4-6 16, Berndt 1 0-0 3, Jacob 2 0-0 6, Condo 2 0-0 5, Cumminsky 1 1-1 3, Dandrea 3 0-0 6, Mukund 2 0-0 5, DiRoberto 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 5-7 46.
Downingtown West 10 21 15 18-64
CB East 11 10 4 21-46
3-point goals: Fromhartz 2, Suarez 2, Blair, Berndt, Jacob 2, Condo, Mukund.
